British Olympics legend 'confident' of getting Catherine on the water ahead of Emirates Great Britain Sail GP

A British Olympics legend has revealed he is "confident" of getting the Princess of Wales to return to sailing ahead of the Emirates Great Britain Sail GP this weekend.

The Princess Royal kicked off the weekend's sailing engagements on Friday, when she visited the SailGP Tech Hub in Southampton in her capacity as President of the Royal Yachting Association.

Hosted by Sir Ben Ainslie and RYA Chair Sir Michael Arthur, Princess Anne toured the Emirates GBR F50 race boat, tried the SailGP simulator, and explored the championship's advanced wing technology.

She also met athletes from both the British squad and the wider international fleet.

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Following this, Sir Ben revealed his long-standing invitation for Catherine to return to competitive sailing, explaining he is both "hopeful" and "confident".

"I'm hopeful we'll be able to convince the princess to come down for another sail, whether it's through Sail GP or the America's Cup next year down in Naples," the 49-year-old Olympic legend told Hello.

"She came sailing with us on the boat [in 2017] and sadly didn't make it out to Bermuda, and then we've had two campaigns since, and we've always kept in touch.

"I'm pretty confident we can convince her to get back out on one of these boats sometime soon."

The four-time Olympic gold medallist and Catherine first crossed paths at the London 2012 Games.

Two years later, they joined forces to launch Britain's America's Cup campaign, with the Princess becoming patron of The 1851 Trust, Ainslie's youth-focused STEM and climate charity.

Sir Ben praised the princess's natural ability on the water, recalling a race in Plymouth where she took the helm against New Zealand — and won.

"She's obviously a very great sportswoman across a number of sports, and super competitive," he said.

The pair have stayed in regular contact, with Sir Ben sending annual updates on his ventures, to which the "incredibly generous" princess always "writes a nice response, keen to know what's going on with the teams and the trust."

Sir Ben's royal links extend further, as he recalled meeting the Princess Royal as an 11-year-old junior sailor at West Kirby Lake in Liverpool. She later knighted him at Buckingham Palace in 2013.

"I've been fortunate enough to meet her a number of times - what a fantastic influence she's had on sport in the UK," he reflected.

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The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix gets under way today in Portsmouth, marking the eighth leg of the Rolex SailGP Championship.

Some 13 national teams will compete in identical 50ft foiling catamarans just metres from Southsea Common, reaching speeds exceeding 100 kilometres per hour.

Sir Ben described it as a "full-on spectacle," adding: "It's sailing you've never seen before."

More than 20,000 spectators are anticipated across the two days of racing.

Live music will accompany the on-water action, with Jess Glynne performing on Saturday and Craig David taking the stage on Sunday.

Emirates GBR head into the weekend sitting third in the overall championship standings, trailing Australia's Bonds Flying Roos in first and Spain's Los Gallos in second.

Last year's home event saw the British team narrowly beaten by New Zealand's Black Foils.

Team strategist Hannah Mills OBE declared the squad is determined to seize the moment. "We're ready to just bring the fire, go out there, take it to everyone and see where we end up," she said, adding that racing before such a large home crowd is "something we dream of doing."

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